National briefs

Rigoberto Ramos from Seaford, Del., originally from Guatemala, rallies for immigration reform in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP

April 11, 2013 12:01 AM

Research firm: PC sales plunge as Windows 8 flops

NEW YORK -- Microsoft's Windows 8 software appears to be driving buyers away from PCs and toward smart phones and tablets, research firm IDC said Wednesday.

Global shipments of PCs fell 14 percent in the first three months of this year, IDC said. That's the sharpest plunge since the firm started tracking the industry in 1994.

The report comes after a year of bad news for the PC. Consumers, especially in wealthy countries like the U.S., are steering their dollars toward tablets and smart phones rather than upgrading their home PCs. It's the biggest challenge to the personal computer since the IBM PC was released in 1981.

In an attempt to keep the PC relevant, Microsoft released a radical new version of Windows on Oct. 26. Windows 8 has a completely new look and forces users to learn new ways to control their machines.

"Unfortunately, it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only didn't provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market," IDC Vice President Bob O'Donnell said.

Police: Phoenix area man killed wife over HIV fear

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- A man charged with fatally stabbing his wife and adult son in their suburban Phoenix home told investigators he carried out the killings out of a fear he had given his wife HIV from prostitutes he used to frequent and out of concern about what would become of his jobless son afterward.

Investigators said that Eugene Maraventano, 64, believed his wife, Janet Maraventano, 63, was ill and feared she might test positive for cancer or a disease he had given her.

Maraventano, who planned to kill himself after killing his wife, wondered what would become of his son, Bryan Maraventano, 27, who lived with his parents.

Eugene Maraventano made several unsuccessful suicide attempts after the killings and called authorities Saturday to say he had carried out the stabbing deaths a few days earlier, police said.

Gunman holding firefighters killed in Georgia

SUWANEE, Ga. -- A gunman who was having financial problems held four firefighters for hours in a suburban Atlanta home, demanding his cable and power be turned back on, before being shot dead when SWAT members stormed the house, authorities said Wednesday. The hostages had cuts and bruises from explosions officers set off to distract the gunman before moving in, but they will be fine, a fire official said.

Earlier Wednesday, five firefighters responded to what seemed like a routine medical call and were eventually taken hostage.

Comeback: Weiner says he might run for NYC mayor

NEW YORK -- Anthony Weiner, the congressman who tweeted himself out of a job two years ago with a photo of his bulging underpants, is considering jumping into the New York City mayor's race.

The Brooklyn Democrat said in a New York Times Magazine story posted online Wednesday that he realizes he would be an underdog, but he wants to "ask people to give me a second chance."

"I do recognize, to some degree, it's now or maybe never for me," Weiner, 48, said.

Political analysts say Weiner would face a steep climb to get past his past, but his political skills, his rich reserve of campaign money and the dynamics of a crowded Democratic primary could make him a player, if not a clear winner, in the contest this fall to succeed Michael Bloomberg as mayor of the nation's largest city.